Do Our Bodies Influence How We Think and Learn?

Have you noticed how some people feel sad on rainy days? Or how many people, even adults, use their fingers to count? Or maybe you have noticed how we refer to some people as “warm” and others as “cold”, and use many other physical and bodily metaphors in everyday language, like “feeling down”, “stay on top of things”, “lend a hand”, and so on? Well, such metaphors describe a situation or state by connecting bodily experiences with it. This idea of embodiment, or grounding of cognition (thinking) in bodily experiences, is fascinating because it provides a new perspective on how the mind works.

In the mid-twentieth century, scientists thought our minds processed information like computers do. They believed we use abstract codes in our heads to solve problems, similar to a computer’s language of 0 and 1 s. According to this view, the body plays a limited role in thinking. Our brains were seen as computer hardware and our minds as software.

But embodied cognition is different. Instead of imagining our minds as software using abstract ideas to reason, embodied cognition argues that cognition is shaped by our bodily experiences and our interactions with the physical world (Figure 1). To break this down with an example, imagine experiencing something new, like learning to play a new sport or a new board game. When this happens, your mind “records” memories about the experience. However, what is recorded includes all sensations you experience in that moment, including perceptual (what you see, feel, smell, hear, and taste), motor (how you move), emotional, and interoceptive sensations and/or states (such as which body parts were involved, etc.) of how it felt to do it. So the “recording” involves your individual, personal sense of performing the activity. Now, when you encounter a similar situation in the future, your brain “replays” parts of the original recordings to help you draw on this experience when dealing with the new situation. This happens without you being aware of it [1]. For example, thinking about using a hammer or even just seeing it activates the same parts of your brain that are active when you actually use a hammer. This means that your mental image of a hammer includes a simulation of previous experiences of using it.

Making Sense of Abstract Ideas

We use all our perceptual, motor, and interoceptive sensations to make sense of the world. Such connections may be clearer for concrete ideas like using a hammer, in which everyday experiences help shape our understanding. However, the way we use these sensations may be less clear for abstract ideas like justice or mathematical ideas like numbers. Unlike a hammer, which we can directly observe in use or even use ourselves, abstract ideas are more difficult to observe or experience in everyday life (for example, it is difficult to point at “justice”), and some abstract ideas are impossible to observe with our senses (for example, we cannot see “infinity”). So, how do we make sense of abstract ideas? This question is a big challenge for every theory of cognition, but there is a possible answer. Embodied cognition suggests that, to grasp abstract ideas, we connect them to our previous experiences [2]. For example, to understand “justice”, we might recall situations in which we have experienced fairness or unfairness and their consequences (such as characteristics of a situation that felt unfair). Try it: think about your idea of justice, about something that was unfair. What do you remember?

For example, when someone cheats in a game, several things might happen at the same time. You see the unfair move, which is a perceptual experience. At the same time, you might have a motor experience, like sitting still in your chair and feeling tense, while the cheating player moves around confidently. Emotionally, you might feel frustrated or angry about what is happening. Simultaneously, you could notice an interoceptive sensation, like your heart racing or your stomach tightening in response to the unfairness. All these experiences can occur together, shaping how you react to the situation.

This way, even abstract ideas can be grounded in perceptual, motor, emotional, and interoceptive experiences. Our bodies and real-life experiences of interactions with the physical world help us make sense of both concrete and abstract ideas.

Learning New Ideas

What does embodied cognition mean for learning new ideas, for instance, at school? Think about learning abstract ideas, like in mathematics. Mathematics is often seen as abstract, but embodied cognition implies that real-life bodily experiences help us to master not only basic mathematical ideas (e.g., numbers), but also more advanced mathematical ideas. For the basics, brain research tells us that when we are handling numbers and doing simple arithmetic, there is an overlap in the parts of the brain that are also active when we move our fingers (Figure 2) [3].

Ever noticed how younger kids naturally start using their fingers for counting and calculations? Well, it turns out, they naturally establish that connection, because it helps them learn numbers and calculate (Figure 3). You can read more about what movements can teach us about brain function here. Using fingers seems to associate mathematical ideas with bodily experiences and thus things we see and do, making basic mathematics easier to grasp and understand [4].

Can we also understand advanced mathematics by moving our bodies? Yes [5]! This might be difficult to believe, especially because a math class usually involves sitting quietly. Nevertheless, there is a story about Terrence Tao, one of the leading mathematicians of today, that illustrates this point. Terrence is a professor of mathematics at the University of California Los Angeles and a winner of the Fields Medal, the highest prize in mathematics. When discussing one of his mathematical discoveries, Prof. Tao mentioned that to grasp a particularly difficult mathematical idea, it helped him to lay down on the floor and roll around! Why did he do this? Well, he was trying to invent something like a mathematical description of waves rotating on top of one another. He tried pretending to be the thing he was aiming to mathematically describe, and rolling around helped his thinking. In other words, the act of rolling around was similar enough to the mathematical problem he was working on that rolling in a particular way helped him “see” things in a new way. Of course, this does not mean that all students should roll around to learn math. Not everyone will have the same experiential and mathematical background that made this movement meaningful to Prof. Tao. Instead, the story shows that bodily actions can help us make sense of even highly advanced mathematics. And, more generally, although students in classrooms are expected to sit down and work quietly, this restrictive behavior is not the norm for mathematicians, who often walk around, change positions, and gesture (read more here) while trying to understand mathematics.

Embodiment Shapes Our Thinking

The idea of embodied cognition invites us to reevaluate how we see the impact of our senses, movements, and feelings while interacting with the world. When we realize just how much our bodies shape our thinking, we gain valuable insights into how we learn and make sense of the world. In school, this perspective emphasizes how hands-on activities and learning through acting out can be effective components of learning even abstract subjects like mathematics.

Glossary

Metaphor: ↑ A word or phrase used to describe something abstract in a vivid way, by relating it to something concrete, creating “a picture in your mind” (that is a metaphor, too).

Embodiment: ↑ The idea that cognition is “grounded in” (in other words, cognition is formed and shaped by) bodily experiences.

Cognition: ↑ Various mental activities, such as remembering, reasoning, problem solving, etc.—basically, everything we do to make sense of the world.

Abstract: ↑ Not concrete or physical, existing only in thought or as an idea. Something you cannot physically touch or grasp but can think of and understand through thinking.

Embodied Cognition: ↑ A theory of cognition that states that cognition is embodied, or deeply dependent upon features of the physical body and, by extension, the environment.

Perception: ↑ Use of the senses, like sight or hearing, to interact with the world around you at a given moment.

Interoception: ↑ Feeling and sensing things inside yourself, like being aware of your heartbeat, feelings of hunger, or any internal sensations.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council (ES/W002914/1).